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Student Government Association Blog

Your Student Body. Your Student Voice. SGA.

Happy March!

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Hello, Bears! Happy March and I hope your midterms have gone well for you. I am excited for the weather to start warming up and I am looking forward to Spring Break next week!

Student Government Association had a great month of February and is excited to continue to impact Missouri State in various ways. SGA invited Dear World to campus on Wednesday, February 26th to help students, faculty, and staff share and celebrate their stories. Dear World is a storytelling project that connects people through their meaningful stories. They have photographed over 125,000 individuals and we are so proud to have them come to Missouri State! Check the pictures that they took here: https://drwrld.com/MissouriStateGallery2020

Last month, we had our Missouri State University Day at the Capitol where students went to Jefferson City and visited the State Capitol. Students spoke with legislators and talked to them about their experience at Missouri State University. Students spoke about why legislators must increase funding for higher educations. Students also advocated on mental health issues and why it is important to provide more resources on college campuses.

Speaking of mental health issues, SGA is looking to put on the Spring ballot a vote that will ask students if they would like to create a new $8 student fee that would go to the counseling center and provide more counselors that students will be able to use. In the fall semester, the Counseling Center faced a long wait time and was forced to create a waiting list that students had to get on to see a counselor. The voting will take place from April 1st to Wednesday, April 8th.

SGA has continued to better diversity and inclusion efforts on campus all year. We have decided to partner with the University and help move the Multicultural Resource Center to the PSU 1st floor where the Office of Student Engagement is located and move the OSE to the level one game center. This move will give the Multicultural Resource Center more space and ways to reach out to students of underrepresented groups right away when they start their collegiate career at Missouri State. We also see this space being a place for all students going into and learning about different cultures, ethnicities, and becoming more of a culturally competent person. Students will be asked to vote on this project as well in the Spring ballot.

Lastly, Allison Heimsath who is a Senior, Hospitality major created a project that is going to impact elementary students in Kansas City, Mo. The project is to get yearbooks for Whittier Elementary School, where every student is on either free or reduced lunch. The school also has City Year employees in the classroom to help with the students, who speak over 13 different languages. Allison believes that Yearbooks means a lot to students and I agree with her. I still have mine! There is a GoFundMe that people can advertise or donate. Each yearbook costs $15 and the goal of the project is $7,500. Here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/zcehv-school-supply-drive?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Abdillahi1997@live.missouristate.edu!

Go Bears!

10 Things to Do at Missouri State in the Next 10 Days

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August is an incredibly exciting time for Missouri State’s campus. From freshmen moving in, to seniors reminiscing, campus is bustling with life once more. There are so many things to do on campus the first week and a half (give or take) of everyone moving back. Whether it’s to welcome everyone to their new home, or the home they’ve loved for years!

1. Fan Fest and Bear Bash
According to Missouri State’s website, more than 5,000 students attend Bear Bash every year, making it one of the largest student events of the year. Students that attend the events can have the opportunity to enjoy free food, games, karaoke, bowling and many more fun activities right beside their residence halls.

2. Belong-B-Q
Behind Freudenberger (Freddy) residence hall, there’s an annual barbecue that takes place that allows students to learn about multicultural experiences, play fun games, and possibly win prizes.

3. New Student Convocation
New Student Convocation at JQH Arena allows new students to be officially welcomed to campus, and have a significant kick-off to their first academic year as Missouri State Bears. Students get to be gathered with their peers, meet the Pride Band and others, and listen to a featured speaker.

4. New Student Festival
Following New Student Convocation, the Festival kicks off. The Plaster Student Union (PSU) is bustling with student organizations, eager to welcome new students into their respective homes. Students can visit booths of over 150 organizations and departments throughout the PSU and the entirety of its outside surroundings where they can learn more about these organizations and programs.

5. Concert-On-The-Green
Every year, the Missouri State Pride Band performs their annual Concert-On-The-Green. This year, they will be unveiling their 2017 edition of themselves in the football stadium for all to hear. The music ranges from jazz to Latin to pop, so every Bear can enjoy a variety of music.

6. Solar Eclipse Viewing
The well-anticipated solar eclipse coincides with Missouri State’s first day of classes. Classes aren’t cancelled, unless the professor states otherwise for each student’s specific class. However, Springfield, Missouri will be having 96% coverage at its peak during the eclipse, and there will be a viewing party held in Plaster Stadium. Attendees receive glasses to help view the eclipse safely during this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

7. Sample Springfield
Sample Springfield is a tradition that has been going on for 33 years. During this event, local businesses come to campus and share information about themselves, offer samples, free gifts, and more. There will be over 60 tables that give away free information, gifts, coupons, and swag to students to help them become familiarized with the area.

8. Glow Climb
The Foster Recreation Center (FRC) is hosting Glow Climb, which allows students to dance and climb rock walls under black lights with glow-in-the-dark paint. Attendees receive a white shirt to paint themselves, along with glow-in-the-dark bracelets.

9. RecFest
The FRC welcomes back students with carnival food, games, and prizes to win. You can win free massages, gift cards to the Bookstore, and many more. Some of the games and activities that will be offered to students include a Black Ops obstacle course and a giant sticky wall!

10. Tour Meyer Library
From August 18th to September 8th, students can take a tour of Meyer Library. It is a great resource to have, as you very well may be spending much of your academic years inside those walls. It’s best to know where things are, what the rules are, and how to find the books and book types you’re looking for!

Students, enjoy these next few days learning about campus and meeting the newest Bears! We can’t wait to see you at our first meeting on August 29th at 5:30 p.m. in the Traywick Parliamentary Room, PSU 313

 

Emily Wilson, Communications Commissioner 

Message from Student Government Association

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Students,

As the Student Government Association (SGA) of Missouri State University, we are responsible and accountable for representing all students. We recognize that students at the University of Missouri have experienced tremendous hurt and injustice, and that students on our campus share similar experiences.

Earlier today, our University released a statement regarding its commitment to making everyone feel welcome on our campus. As student representatives, we must be better about being made up of all voices. We must make more concerted efforts to encourage student initiatives from everyone, rather than doing what we think or assume students want.

We have the means and resources to make real, meaningful change in our campus community, but we cannot do it if we all look the same or come from the same background. It takes all voices to shift our campus culture, so the change starts now. Every student reading this letter has valuable ideas, and SGA must be more committed to encouraging the development of those ideas.

Our Senate meets every Tuesday night at 5:30pm in the Plaster Student Union Parliamentary Room (313). Anyone is welcome to attend those meetings at any time, and any student is welcome to apply to become a Senator. Senate applications can be found on our website www.sga.missouristate.edu, or they can be found in the SGA Office (PSU 123). Senators have the opportunity to join various committees within SGA and initiate ideas of all kinds.

The process for running to become Student Body President will begin early in the Spring semester. If you are interested in this position, please consider joining SGA soon to get a feel for the organization and to get more details on the election process.

You do not have to be in SGA for your voice to be heard. Our office is open from 8am-5pmnd we welcome friends from all backgrounds to share their thoughts, experiences, and ideas. In the coming days, we will be out and about around campus discussing with students what the best Missouri State looks like.

Listed below are the Executives, Directors, and Commissioners who wished to be included in this letter. Also included are ways that you can contact them with questions, ideas, or initiatives.

We want everyone to have a meaningful place in making Missouri State University an institution they are proud to call home.

Sincerely,

SGA Cabinet
Ashley Crisafulli – President – Crisafulli7694@live

Alissa Biermaier – Vice-President – Biermaier000@live

Caleb Doyle – Student Governor – Doyle796@live

Justin Roberts – Chief of Staff – Justin093@live

Connor Aller – Research and Development – Glen555@live

Ben Borgstede – Chief Information Officer – Ben093@live

Adam Coffman – Speaker Pro Tempore/Internal Affairs – Adam1860@live

Marli Coonrod – Student Affairs – Coonrod123@live

Brianna Duda – Academic Affairs – Duda695@live

Nick Duncan – Wyrick Fund Commissioner – Duncan405@live

Shelby Greninger – Chief Communications Officer – Shelby22@live

Evan Grosch – Elections Commissioner – Evan512@live

Timmy Hogenkamp – Sustainability Commissioner – Hogenkamp15@live

Brandon McCoy – Administrative Services – McCoy116@live

Jeremy Morgan – Chief Financial Officer – Morgan14@live

Courtney Nichols – Sergeant-at-Arms – Courtney721@live

Dominic Pecoraro – Information Services – Dominic7@live

DL Peppers – Ad Hoc: Veteran Services – Pepper00@live

Daezia Smith – Public Affairs – Daezia822@live

Wyatt Taylor – Sustainability – Robert417@live

Weston Thomas – Secretary – Thomas101@live

Jordan Upchurch – Diversity & Inclusion – Upchurch17@live

Max Wagner – University Advancement – Wagner16@live

Brad White – Senior Class President – Bradley12@live

Zak Wilkerson – Student Affairs – Wilkerson55@live

SGA Launches the Reusable Cup Program

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Director of Sustainability, Max Wagner, and his committee has paired SGA with Dining Services to create a reusable cup program. The program is $29.99 a semester, with the exception of this semester which has a price $12.91. This program includes free fountain drinks and refills in the PSU, excluding Chic-Fil-A lemonade and tea. It also includes a punch card system for additional rewards. The program will be identified with the tumbler cup it comes with and a sticker that will be placed on the BearPass.  Please spread the word and tell fellow students about this awesome program.

 

For more information, contact Director Wagner at wagner16@live.missouristate.edu.